Apparatus for strip material



April 16, 1957 H. DSENIS 2,738,587

APPARATUS FOR STRIP MATERIAL Filed June 1, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet l 4 1FIG.

} INVENTOR. HAROLD L. DSEN/S A T TOR/VF V April 16, 1957 955mg 2,788,587

APPARATUS FOR STRIP MATERIAL Filed June 1, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 57 (f F54 24 g 40 L53 5 WV m i121 H r i W T INVEN TOR. HAROLD L. DSEN/S ,4 TTOR NE Y April 16, 1957 H. DSENIS APPARATUS FOR STRIP MATERIAL 4Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June L, 1954 INVENTOR. HAROLD L. DSEN/S ATTORNEY'April 16, 1957 H. L. DSENlS APPARATUS FOR STRIP MATERIAL 4 Sheets-Sheet4 Filed June 1, 1954 IN V EN TOR.

HAROLD L. DSEN/S BY fl A T TOPNE Y United States Patent APPARATUS FORSTRIP MATERIAL Harold L. Dsenis, Altadena, Calif., assignor, by mesneass gnments, to Consolidated Electrodynamics Corps ration, Pasadena,Calif., a corporation of California Application June 1, 1954, Serial No.433,701 3 Claims. (Cl. 334-110) This invention relates to apparatus fortreating strip material and more specifically to apparatus in whichstrip material such as photographic paper is passed around a treatingdrum.

In many types of processes it is often desirable to pass strip materialaround the periphery of one or more drums while the material is beingtreated, e. g., heated, degassed, coated, irradiated, etc.

For economy and compactness of construction it is desirable to pass thestrip material around as much of the treating drum periphery aspractical. It is also desirable to have auxiliary rollers associatedwith the treating drum arranged for threading or loading of the stripmaterial with a minimum of ditficulty. This invention provides atreating drum and associated roller means which permit the use of alarge part of the treating drum periphery and in addition permit thethreading or loading of the strip material around the drum With minimumdifficulty.

The present invention contemplates apparatus for treating strip materialin which a treating drum is disposed so that the strip material can bepassed around a substantial part of its periphery. Conveniently, thestrip material is taken from storage on a reel or in a magazine, passedaround the treating drum, and then stored on a take-up spool driven byconventional means. A roller is located adjacent the drum periphery withits longitudinal axis extending in the same direction as thelongitudinal axis of the drum. The roller is disposed near the pointwhere the strip material first enters onto the drum periphery so thatthe strip material passes around substantially all of the drumperiphery, between the drum periphery and the roller, and around aportion of the roller periphery.

In a preferred form of the invention, the roller is mounted on a bracketwhich ext nds transverse to the longitudinal axis of the drum. One endof the bracket is adapted to pivot about an axis parallel to thelongitudinal axis of the drum. The other end of the bracket carries aroller adapted to guide the strip material around a substantial portionof the drum. Means are provided for releasably holding the bracket intwo fixed positions located approximately 180 apart arounr. the drumperiphery. When the bracket is held in the first or loading position,the roller is adjacent the drum periphery and located near the pointwhere the strip material first contacts the drum periphery but is spacedfrom that point in the direction in which the strip material passesaround the drum. Strip material is passed between the drum and theroller while it is held in the leading position and the bracket is thenrotated to carry the roller around the drum periphery in the directionof movement of the strip material, the leading end of the strip materialbeing held in a fixed position so that the strip material is carriedaround a substantial portion of the drum, and the bracket is then lockedin the second or operating position. For

convenience in guiding the treated material two or more rollers may bedisposed about the drum periphery.

In those processes in which the invention is to be used for heating thestrip material, means are provided for heating the drum or stripmaterial as it passes around the drum. In addition, temperature-sensingmeans, such as a thermostat, is used to measure the drum temperature andautomatically control the heating means to maintain the drum temperaturesubstantially constant.

As indicated above, this invention is suitable for use in a variety ofprocesses in which strip material is passed over a drum for treatment.However, for the purposes of illustrating the invention in detail, apreferred form of the apparatus is described as used in conjunction withapparatus for developing relatively long strips of photographic paper inwhich the treating drum is used to dry the paper after it is immersed invarious solutions. More specifically, the apparatus is generally knownas an oscillogram processor, i. e., apparatus for developing andimmedietely drying and storing a strip of photographic paper which hasbeen used to record the output of an oscillograph.

These and other aspects of the invention will be more clearly understoodin the light of the following detailed description taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a schematic sectional view of the invention as adapted for usein drying developed photographic paper in an osciilogram processor, thebracket being held in the leading position;

Fig. 2 is a partial schematic section of the apparatus illustrated inFig. 1 showing the bracket held in the treating position;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the treating drum, the bracket, andassociated guide rollers;

Fig. 4 is a plan view taken along line 4-4 of Fig. l, partly broken awayand partly in section;

Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation partly broken away taken on line 5-5 ofFig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation, partly broken away taken on line 6-6 ofFig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a partial transverse section taken on line 77 of Fig. 6showing the details of a counter which indicates the amount of stripmaterial treated;

Fig. 8 is a view taken on line 88 of Fig. 4 showing the means forreleasably holding the roller bracket; and

Fig. 9 is a schematic circuit diagram of a circuit showing how theheating means is controlled thermostatically.

Referring to Fig. 1, an osciliogram processor is indicated generally bythe reference character 10, and cornpris-es a substantially rectangularcase 11 having conventional means for holding a roll 12 of photographicpaper E3 in the forward end of the case, a series of developing tanks 14and developer rollers 15 associated with the tanks for guiding thephotographic paper serially through the tanks located in anintermediate, light-tight compartment of the case, a plurality ofsqueegees or wipers 16 for reducing the liquid transfer from one tank tothe following tank as the paper is processed, and a treating or dryingsection 17 in the rear end of this case.

The rear end of the case or the drying section is provided only withside walls 13, 19 (see Fig. 4) and a bottom 2d which extends for theentire length of the case. Each of the side walls is formed of twoparallel partitions 13A, 13B and 19A, 1913, respectively. The top andrear end wails are omitted from the drying area to facilitate thecirculation of air to increase the drying rate of the wet paper. A drum21 is rotatably supported in the drying section with its longitudinalaxis extending transverse to the side Walis. A stationary, hollow shaft22, supported at one end by a split-flanged hub 23 mounted in the wall19 of the case, extends coaxially through the drum. The shaft isattached to the hub by a screw 24. The other end of the shaft isprovided with an internal pilot bearing into which extends an end of acrankshaft 26 journalled through a bearing 27 in the 'wal 18 of thecase. A crank handle 28 positioned on the outside of the case isattached to the other end of the crankshaft.

Each end of the drum is provided with an inner wall 29 and an outer wall30 which acts as a heat shield. The drum is rotatably supported aboutthe hollow shaft by an annular drum bearing 31 in the center of eachdrum end wall which is respectively disposed about a shaft bushing 32 oneach end of the shaft.

A helical heating coil 33 is coaxially disposed about the shaft withinthe drum and is supported by a pair of spiders 34 attached to the shaft.Two power lines 35, 36 are attached to the respective ends of theheating coil and extend through the interior of the shaft and out anopening in the wall 19 of the case, and are adapted to be connected to aconventional power source 36A (see Fig. 9) through a relay 36B.

A bracket 38 having parallel end plates 39, 40 extending transverse tothe hollow shaft between the drum and case walls 18, 19, respectively,is adapted to pivot about the shaft. A first annular plate bearing 42 isdisposed about the crankshaft adjacent the end wall of the drum. Thisbearing is attached to the crankshaft by means of a pin 43 extendingthrough the bearing and the shaft. The inner portion of plate 39 isattached to the bearing by means of screws 44. A second end platebearing 45 is disposed about the hollow shaft adjacent the other endwall of the drum. An inner portion of the end plate 49 is attached tothe second plate bearing by screws 46. Each end plate 39, 40 is providedwith a straight edge 47, 48 respectively. The edges extend in the samedirection and are disposed slightly beyond the drum periphery. A firstroller 49, parallel to the drum axis, is rotatably attached between onepair of ends of the two plate edges. A second roller 50, parallel to thefirst, is rotatably attached between the other pair of ends of thestraight edges. A back-up plate 51 is attached to the end plates betweenthe two rollers and lies in the plane defined by the two rollers.

An operating locking pin 52 is provided on the outer surface of endplate 39 near the first roller and extends toward the end case wall 18.A similarly-located operating locking pin 53 is provided on the outersurface of end plate 40 and extends toward the case wall 19. The endplate 40 is provided with an extension 40A which pro jects beyond thedrum periphery to a position diametrically opposed to the operatinglocking pin position. A loading locking pin 54 extends from the outersurface of this projection of the end plate 40. Thus, all of the lockingpins travel around the periphery of the drum as the bracket is pivotedor rotated. A latch shaft 55 extends through the side walls of the casejust to the rear of the drum and slightly below the axis of drumrotation. A latch handle 56 is attached to the end of the latch shaftextending through the wall 18 and the other end of the shaft isrotatably secured to the opposite wall by means of a locking nut 57.Each end of the latch shaft is provided with a latch arm 58 rigidlyattached to the shaft adjacent the inside of each side wall by means ofset screws 58A. Each latch extends downwardly and to the rear of thecase. A latching notch 59 is provided in the free ends of each of thelatch arms and is adapted to receive and releasably hold the lockingpins as the bracket is rotated by means of the crank.

One end of a downwardly extending lever arm 60 (see Fig. 8) is attachedby means of a screw 61 to the latch shaft within wall 18. One end of atension spring 62 is attached to the free end of the lever and the otherend of the tension spring is attached to a screw mounted within thewall. A stop 63 is mounted on the wall so that the spring tends to holdthe lever against the stop. Thus,

the latches are held up until moved down by operation of the handleattached to the latch shaft.

A pair of conventional thermostats 65, 66 are attached to a rear wall 67of the case and extend rearwardly to contact the upper-rear portion ofthe drum periphery. For flexibility of drying paper under variousconditions, one of the thermostats is set for operation at hightemperatures and the other is set for operation at a lower temperature.Each of the thermostats are adjustable for operation at any desiredtemperature within their respecill t3 operating ranges. The thermostats65, 66 are respectively connected by leads 68, 69 through a double-poleswitch 66A and a. relay battery 66B to the relay coil Whereby one or theother of the thermostats regulates the power supplied to the heatingcoil and thus maintains the drum at substantially a constanttemperature.

A conventional counter 70 (see Figs. 6 and 7) is attached in side wall18. One end of a counter shaft 70A extends into the case through theinner partition of wall 18 and is provided with three prongs 71positioned apart and extending transverse to the counter shaft axis.Three projections 72 spaced 120 apart are provided on the end of thedrum adjacent the counter and engage the prongs as the drum is rotated.A spring detent 73 under the counter shaft successively engages theprongs and prevents the shaft from overrunning. A bevelled gear 74attached to the end of the shaft within the wall is 1'0- tated as theprongs are engaged by the projections on the drum. This gear engages asmaller bevelled gear 75 which operates the counter. A reset knob 76 isprovided so that the counter may be set as desired. Thus the counterprovides an accurate measure of the amount of strip material which hasbeen passed over the drum. This is particularly useful in determininghow much paper has been processed and when the chemicals in the variousbaths need to be replaced.

A winding or take-up spool 78 is rotatably mounted at the lower rearportion of the case and is rotated by conventional means (not shown).

The operation of the apparatus is as follows:

The crank is turned to the position shown in Fig. 4 so that the rollersare in the loading position. With the bracket in this position, theloading locking pin is held by the notch in the latch arm adjacent theside wall 19. The leading end of the strip paper to be processed ispassed over the top of the drum periphery and guided down between thedrum periphery and the two rollers. The end of the paper is thenattached to the take-up spool. The latch shaft handle is depressed torotate the latches in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 5, sothat the loading locking pin is released. The crank handle is thenrotated so that the bracket turns clockwise (as viewed in Fig. 1) forapproximately to the position shown in Fig. 2. The bracket is held inthis second position by means of the two operating locking pins, each ofwhich respectively engages in the notches in the latch arms. Theadditional length of paper necessary for this new position is pulledfrom the magazine as the bracket is rotated. Thus the paper is carriedaround approximately 300 of the drum periphery (see Fig. 2) before it iswound on the take-up spool.

The driving means for the take-up spool is then turned on and the paperis pulled from the magazine, through the various tanks, over the heateddrum for a final drying operation, around the rollers while supported bythe backup plate, and then on to the take-up spool. Thus the paper isdried and stored in one continuous operation as soon as it is developed.This is accomplished with a drum of minimum size and with minimumdifliculty of loading due to the use of the wrap-around rollers of theinvention.

As indicated above, the temperature of the drum can be adjusted bysetting the thermostats for various requirements, depending on the typeof paper being processed and the local conditions. such as humidity andtemperature.

The present invention has been used satisfactorily to dry typicalphotographic paper at the rate of ten feet per minute, operating thedrum at a temperature in a range between 280 F. and 350 F.

The apparatus could be arranged so that the bracket is permanently heldin the operating position, thus doing away with the pivotal feature ofthe bracket. This would result in the strip material covering the sameamount of drum periphery, but the loading or threading of strip paperaround the drum and between the drum and rollers would be moredifficult, particularly when the drum is maintained at operatingtemperature for continual use.

I claim:

1. In apparatus for treating strip material the combination comprising atreating drum adapted to rotate about its longitudinal axis, a bracketextending transverse to the axis of rotation of the drum and adapted topivot about the axis of rotation of the drum, a first roller carried bya portion of an end of the bracket and disposed adjacent the drumperiphery at a first location, the ion '2- tudinal axis of the firstroller extending parallel to the axis of rotation of the drum, a secondroller extending in the same direction as the first roller and carriedby another portion of the same end of the bracket, the second rollerbeing adjacent the drum periphery at a second location, means forreleasably holding the bracket in a first fixed position and in a secondfixed position, and means for moving the strip material around asubstantial portion of the drum periphery, between the drum and therollers and around a portion of each of the roller peripheries when thebracket is held in the second position, the first roller being near thepoint on the drum which is first contacted by the strip material and thesecond roller being farther removed from the said point of firstcontact.

2. In apparatus for treating strip material the combination comprising atreating drum adapted to rotate about its longitudinal axis, a bracketextending transverse to the axis of rotation of the drum and adapted topivot about the axis of rotation of the drum, a first roller carried bya portion of an end of the bracket and disposed adjacent the drumperiphery at a first location, the longitudinal axis of the first rollerextending parallel to the axis of rotation of the drum, a second rollerextending in the same direct-ion as the first roller and carried byanother portion of the same end of the bracket, the second roller beingadjacent the drum periphery at a second location, means for alternatelyreleasably holding the brack et in a first fixed posit-ion and in asecond fixed position including locking pins affixed to the bracket andat least one latch arm pivoted apart from the dnlm and bracket:

leasably hold the locking pins, and means including a.

crank handle having a crankshaft connected to the bracket on the axis ofrotation of the bracket for rotating the bracket from the first to thesecond position so that the strip material is moved around a substantialportion of the drum periphery, between the drum and the rollers andaround a portion of each of the roller peripheries, the first rollerbeing near the point on the drum which is first contacted by the stripmaterial and the second roller being farther removed from the said pointof first contact when the bracket is in the second position.

3. In apparatus for treating strip material which includes a treatingdrum adapted to rotate about its axis, and a take-up spool locatedproximate the drum, with the strip material entering onto the drum andextending around a portion of the drum periphery and thence to thetake-up spool, the improvement which comprises a bracket whichencompasses substantially the width of the drum and which is pivotablymounted on approximately the same axis as the drum, the bracketincluding a pair of rollers oriented approximately parallel to the axisof the drum and spaced apart and extending in the direction across theWidth of the drum with the rollers being spaced from the periphery ofthe drum, means for releasably retaining the bracket in a first positionin which the rollers are free of the strip material with the stripmaterial passing beneath both rollers and on the drum, means forpivoting the bracket from said first position around the drum andpassing the rollers between the drum and take-up spool for carrying aloop of the strip material around the periphery of the drum to a secondposition which is proximate the point where the material first entersonto the drum, in which second position the strip material passes aroundthe drum and under both rollers thence back over both rollers to thetakc up spooi, and means for retaining the bracket in said secondposition.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,281,780 Jean Oct. 15, 1918 1,494,603 Jones et al May 20, 19242,440,839 Apgar et al May 4, 1948 2,642,676 Grimm June 23, 1953 FOREIGNPATENTS 9,834 Sweden Ian. 18, 1898

